Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Immortal Anniversary Gifts

I think there's a missed opportunity in romance land, particulary in paranormal romance land, particularly in the lucrative gifting market. 

I'm talking about anniversary gifts. You know how there's a chart of what gifts are symbolic of each year of marriage, and people can get downright goofy adhering to the suggested gifts? Like, say, my husband, who, for our tenth anniversary, wrapped my present in tin foil because the traditional gift was tin/aluminum. I should be thankful I didn't also get a tube of Reynolds wrap, too.

Some of the traditional lists I've seen stop usually at the 60th anniversary, known in some charts as the "diamond anniversary," while the 75th is also the diamond anniversary. I myself am partial to the 48th US Modern anniversary, which is "Optical goods," or the 44th, which is the ever-so-romantic "Groceries." Nothing tops the 41st and 42nd anniversaries, though, which are "Land" followed by "Improved real estate," because clearly, whoever bought the land last year did not know what they were doing, and they need another shot at that gift. 

Also, how does one wrap groceries? Stick a bow on the bag?

So, What Are you Reading This Weekend?

Time again for me to be nosy and ask, what are you reading this weekend?

I have a list of things to try out, as I just read Truths and Roses in a marathon sprint. I also have a nonfiction book about storytelling arts that I want to read. 

While I was loving At Home in parts, I had to stop reading it for awhile, because the discussion was often so bleak. Here are all these amazing people who invented amazing things that we now take for granted and who have been entirely forgotten by history! Oy. So that'll sit for awhile until I feel like picking it up again. 

What about you? What are you reading this weekend? I hope it's awesome, whatever it is! 

Oh! And is anyone going to see One for the Money this weekend? I don't think it looks "babysitter worthy," but I'm curious!

Feel Like Party Planning?

I received the following very sweet inquiry this week, and thought maybe you'd have some good ideas to help Val out. Val wants to throw a surprise party for her mother in law, and center the party on a romance-novel theme. Here's her message: 

I have no idea how to give my Mother-in-law a surprise 80th birthday party
in April with a romance novel theme.

This has been her quiet hobby for at least the last 4 decades that I have
known her.

She's a widow with eight grown (obviously) children, as well as
grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and almost all of us have given her
romance novels for all occasions, or when she's not feeling well.

I realize this isn't your usual, but would appreciate any input you
have.

I think that is such a nice idea, and so generous! Off the top of my head, if Val could find out what her favorite romances are, each table or different parts of the room could be dedicated to those books, or the settings of those books, especially if they have a setting or theme in… read more »

Carly Phillips, Reddit, and The Sheltering Suburban Mom Meme

A reader sent me a link to a Reddit thread which reveals that the image used in a popular meme online, Sheltering Suburban Mom, is the author photo of Carly Phillips, bestselling romance author.

Cue long discussion of how romance is porn.

This is a whole new kettle of WTF for an individual like Ms. Phillips, who probably never suspected that her image was being used to portray a meme character. Her identity has been listed at Know Your Meme for awhile, and their article traces the first known usage of Philips' author photo as 5 May 2011.

I don't know if I can successfully explain a meme, but usually it's an image representing a character with various captions attached. For example: judgmental bookseller ostrich, who is that horrible bookseller we've often met who judges our reading choices.

The problem for Phillips: some of the captions are funny, some are sort of meh, and some are painfully racist and homophobic, not to mention the overarching problem of having one's image used as a symbol for hypocritical self-importance.

Not the author brand anyone is looking for.

The Reddit folks… read more »

Nora Roberts Backlist Available Now

Penguin's InterMix is now selling the Nora Roberts digital backlist, with the Donovan Legacy and the Cordina's Royal Family series on sale now.

I have not read the Cordina family series, but the Donovan series is one of my favorites to re-read. If you're looking for the series in order:

The Donovan Legacy

• Captivated by Nora Roberts * $6.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Entranced by Nora Roberts * $6.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Charmed by Nora Roberts * $6.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Enchanted by Nora Roberts * $6.99 * A | BN | K | S
… read more »

Reader Thread: Whatcha Reading?

A reader named Staci emailed me, asking if there were a place at SBTB she could talk to other romance readers about what she's reading, and know that folks would understand what she's talking about. Staci wrote, I would love for there to be a place where all of us fans and romance lovers had a place to talk without a thread, just free form. I am sure there is a place like this somewhere on the internet but I ...enjoy your website and its followers so much. I really feel like it would just be an added bonus. I am going to be starting the Evanovich  Plum Series and while I feel like this is a big undertaking, I am sure no one in my immediate circle would care. I am sure however that the bitchery would totally understand and give lots of humorous support.

The whole Plum series, all upteen books? Oh, yes, I know exactly what you're facing. The early books will make you laugh hard enough to consider using the bathroom, so be ye warned. 

Staci's email got me thinking,… read more »

Paranormal vs Contemporary Fans

I am not sure what the word is - overheard? read? visually eavesdropped? - but I read a conversation between Shannon Stacey and Angela James about paranormal vs. contemporary romances, and why the fanbase for some paranormal series is more active, involved, and at times rabid than the fans for contemporary series.

This idea made me ponder for a good few weeks now about why that is. 

First, the idea that a paranormal romance series can enjoy a more active and sometimes coordinated fanbase is true, but that doesn't mean there aren't well-coordinated efforts on behalf of contemporary romance series.

A Thank You Note from An Goris

Back in 2008, An Goris wrote to ask for our help in finding copies of Nora Roberts' older novels for her PhD dissertation, which was an author study of Roberts' career and backlist. 

As of last month, Goris is now Dr. An Goris, having successfully defended her dissertation. Mazel tov! 

She sent me the following note and asked that I share with you, the most awesome romance readers on the planet: 

Podcast Recommendations, Please

Since Jane and I began working on the Dear Bitches Smart Authors Podcast (new episode coming this week, I promise!) I've started subscribing to a few podcasts, but I want to expand my subscription list. So I figured I'd ask you, since our tastes align in a few key areas. 

So far, I subscribe to the "Stuff You Should Know" podcast, and the "Notes in Spanish" podcast - which gives me some hope that I haven't entirely lost my ability to understand Spanish (though my ability to understand the accent from Spain is much greater than my ability to understand Spanish speakers from, say, Argentina, alas).

I haven't found any other podcasts that talk specifically about romance, but I am curious what podcasts you love, and which ones you subscribe to.

Care to share links? I'd much appreciate it - and I bet… read more »

Penguin, Amazon, and the Kindle Lending Library

First up: per Publisher's Lunch, Overdrive announced on their blog yesterday:

"‘Get for Kindle’ for all Penguin eBooks in your catalog has been restored as of this morning. Penguin titles are available for check out by Kindle users and the Kindle format will be available for patrons who are currently on a waiting list for a Penguin title. This does not affect new releases, which remain unavailable.

We apologize for the inconvenience this caused for your library and patrons.
At this time, no further information is available. We hope to share more details in the near future."

So Kindle lending is back except for new stuff, which is unavailable. This made the Hokey Pokey get stuck in my head like you have NO idea. You put the ebook in, you take the ebook out, you stick ebook in and you shake it all about….

Over at the ALA's Digital Shift blog there's a statement from Penguin that reads:

Two Links Diverged In a Wood. I Clicked Them Both.

Link the First!

Heads up, everyone! The Bad Sex Shortlist (hur hur) has been released. It includes a Jean Auel book, The Land of the Painted Caves.

I think, no matter what it is, nothing shall top "The Weeping Furnace of Her Sheath."

But I would love to do a 2011 edition of Bad Sex in Romance, as we did for 2010. Any suggestions? Perhaps I'll rename it the "Weeping Furnace Award for Bad Sex." Nominations, passages (hur hur) and suggestions of questionably bizarre sex scenes are most welcome. It'll be epic. You, and your furnace, will weep.

And Link the Second!

The Guardian did a pretty intense profile of Nora Roberts, which partially retold anecdotes many of us have heard already, but this one section literally blew my mind:

...she has won 19 Rita awards from the Romance Writers of America, the association's highest accolade, as well as being inducted into its hall… read more »

The Power of Julie Garwood and Romance

Last week (which seems so long ago, wow) we began compiling a list of Garwood titles and which one readers who aren't familiar with Garwood's backlist should try first.

I'm still compiling the list and should have it ready this week, but I wanted to share with you this email from an anonymous reader who wanted to tell me how much she loves Garwoods books and why. 

I found this letter to be amazing and moving, and it speaks so clearly about the powerful connection of emotions in the romances we love. 

I was catching up on your site and saw the latest Classic Romance post was about Julie Garwood. I first discovered her books when my older sister moved out after graduating high school and I found a box of books in her closet. Among the misc romance, mystery and thriller books was read more »

The Bitchery Glossary

Every now and again I receive email asking what one of the abbreviations on the site means, so I thought a Bitchery Glossary would be a good idea.

Some of these terms are used all over the place and certainly aren't exclusive to this site. Some are abbreviations we use for categories or features here. But if you've ever wondered what the hell something means, hopefully this list will help.

GS vs STA: Good Shit vs Shit To Avoid - used for developing lists of books by type or characteristic, both of books folks loved and books folks didn't like too much. Or, in some cases, hated with the passion of a thousand burning suns filled with hateration (or, as my computer tried to correct, "hate rations.")

HaBO: Help a Bitch Out - you remember the plot, the character's strange hair color, the fuchsia eyeshadow on the cover, the fact that the villain was gay, abused his horse and ate endangered species. Do you remember the title? Nope. But nearly every time, someone here knows exactly what book you're talking about.

TSTL: Too Stupid to Live (often used to describe heroines who are really freaking… read more »

Heavy D and the Hero

I started this post on 25 October, and put it aside because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say. In mid-October, I put Heavy D’s “Now That We’ve Found Love” on my running mix and was thinking about the song and how much I liked it (and Heavy D) while I was out one day. Heavy D died unexpectedly on 8 November at age 44, and the news headline made me remember this post and that I’d never finished it. While I’m still not sure that I made every point I wanted to make (my train of thought while out running moves long the lines of Huh. Heavy D. Romance heroes. Why not heavy D heroes? …. Squirrel! Treebranch… manhole cover. Hi doggy! …. Romance heroes. Huh? ) I am still thinking about this topic, and wanted to ask your opinion.

While listening to Heavy D tell me about how he’s found love, I got to wondering whether we’ll ever see heroes who don’t fit a physical ideal - a super hard muscular one. There are built heroes and slender heroes, but even the slender heroes, once they take their shirts off, are described in such… read more »

Pamela Clare, Romance, State Law, and Women’s Rights

I was having a completely unrelated email conversation with author Pamela Clare this past week when I learned something rather amazing that she did, and I wanted to share this with you. Here’s another answer to anyone who says that romances are all the same, and they are all meaningless fluff.

Romance novels can and have had an impact on the real world, and Ms. Clare’s an example of that. A journalist by profession, she’s the author of the I-Team romantic suspense series. Last year, she wrote a law that passed in Colorado last year banning use of shackles on female inmates giving birth while imprisoned.

This story is amazing. Seriously, my jaw hit my desk. But please be aware, before you click for more, that there are some brutal stories in Clare’s account about women in labor in prisons in the US. Unflinchingly brutal. Be warned.